Golf club



Aug. 18,- 1925.

w. c. BYRNE GOLF CLUB Filed Jan. 7, 1921 Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED STATES Pnrlazla'r OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. BYRNE, F RADNOR, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALE TO CHARLES H. Q'UIMBY, OF WAYNE, PENNSYLVANIA.

GOLF CLUB. V

, Application filed January 7, 1921. Serial No. 435,575.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. BYRNE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania,

have invented certain Improvements in Golf Clubs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of golf clubs known as the iron 1 clubs, the principal object of the invention being to provide a golf club of this class in which the liability of defective strokes and particularly socketing or shanking the all, is greatly reduced or entirely eliminated.

The invention will be more readily understood from the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a view in perspective of the metal head of a golf club made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2, is a plan view of the head;

Fig. 3, is a vertical section on the line 83, Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4:, is a modified form of head having an offset hose and made in accordance with my invention.

In iron clubs of the form commonly used, the hose, or that portion of the hose which adjoins the body of the head, is straight, and the junction of the hose with the said body is such that the center lines of the hose and of the base or under side of the said body lie substantially in the same plane. The pitch of the club is obtained by offsetting the upper edge of the body, which is usually relatively narrow as compared with the base, rearwardly with respect to the said base, which latter remains fixed, with the result that a socket is formed at the end of the front or working face of the head where the hose joins the body. The so-called socketing or shanking of the ball, well known to golf players, in which the ball is driven outwardly by the club in a direction substantially at right angles to the line of the stroke, is caused by the ball being struck in the aforesaid socket.

I have discovered by joining the hose to the body of the head so that the front face of the body lies entirely forwardly of the hose, retaining at the same time as nearly as possible the straight line of the hose, and by then obtaining the pitch by ofifsetting the base or bottom of the body forwardly with respect to the upper edge thereof, which 55 latter remains fixed, that the aforedescribed socket may be entirely eliminated from the front face, leaving the latter flat and clear. The changes thus effected, while involving numerous advantages, do not, however, involve any material or freakish departure from the generally accepted design for golf clubs.

lVith reference to the drawings, 1 indicates the metal body of a club head and 2 the metal hose which in the present instance joins the body 1 at one end of the latter, the said body being disposed at an angle to the said hose to give loft of pitch to the club. The hose 2 in the present instance runs straight to the point where it joins the body 1 and the junction is such that the forward edge 3 of the hose meets the rear edge 4 of the top surface 5 of the body, as shown in Fig. 3, the said rear edge 4: lying substantially tangentially to the hose. It will be seen that in determining the pitch of the club, the bottom or base 6 ofthe body is offset forwardly with respect to the top 5 of the body, the edge 4 being in the present instance the axis around which the said body is, theoretically, rotated in establishing the pitch. No portion of the hose lies forwardly of the working face 7 of the body, the junction between the body and hose being effected entirely rearwardly of the said face whereby the latter is left entirely flat and unobstructed over its entire surface.

It will be apparent that by forming a bend in the lower end of the hose, the latter may be attached to the rear face of the body at practically any point desired, with the result that the front face is left entirely clear, but this construction entails a material departure from the accepted club designs. By retaining the straight line of the hose, however, and by merging the hose into the rear face, either in the manner previously described, or with the front edge of the hose actually entering the top surface of the body, at the front edge thereof, for example, 100 as shown in Fig. 4, or at any point intermediate the front and rear edges, the desired effect may be obtained with little variation from the standard form.

In Fig. 4, I have illustrated a modification 105 within the scope of my invention, in which the pitch is obtained by bending the hose at a point slightly above the upper edge of the head, the junction of the shank and head being made in the aforedescribed manner.

It will be apparent that in this modification, the pitch may be obtained in part only by bendin the hose, the remainder of the pitch being eii'ected by offsetting the base of the body forwardly with respect to the top thereof in a manner similar to that previously set forth.

Advantages other than the elimination of the socket attach to my invention. Then addressing the ball, for example, a clearer and less obstructed view of the ball and of the front face of the head may be had with a club made in accordance with my invention than with clubs of the usual form. There is given, also, to the club an appearance of greater loft which adds much to the confidence of the player. Further, the ball may be played more from the heel of the club than is otherwise possible whereby a greater leverage is obtained, while with the hose joining the body as described, the weight of the hose lies behind the front face, with the result that a more effective and ei'licient stroke is made possible.

I claim:

A head for golf clubs comprising a metal body, and a hose joining the body at one end of the latter the juncture of the hose and body being such that the rear edge of the top surface of the body lies substantially tangential to the forward edge of said hose.

lVILLIAM C. BYRNE. 

